Airbnb is one of the worlds biggest online marketplaces, where people are empowered to advertise their home or space to potential renters in specific locations.
Airbnb is based on a peer-to-peer business model which makes it simple, easy to use, and tends to be more profitable for both parties. The model also gives you the opportunity to customize and personalize your guests’ experience the way you want.
Airbnb stands for “Air Bed” and “Breakfast”. Its origin can be traced to 2008 when two co-founders Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia from San Francisco got their first major break in the business.
The duo came up with the idea to rent out their seating room to travelers at a rate cheaper than a standard hotel room as they were unable to make enough money to pay for the rent of their place. They set up air beds and served their Guests homemade breakfast. This later formed their business name “Airbnb”.
How Airbnb works
Airbnb link up home owners renting out space in their homes with guests seeking accommodation for a cheaper prices than a hotel. Airbnb takes a 3% commission from bookings as well as a 6%-12% servicing fee from guests. The model offers a variety of filters that help guests find the desired listing, a chat system that connects hosts to guests directly, and handles secure payments through the site.
Steps to book a space
The Airbnb process as a guest is relatively easy, there are few steps to aid you through.
- Log in or create an account on the Airbnb website if you haven’t already done so.
- You’ll need to verify your phone number and upload some form of identification among other things.
- Search for an accommodation that’s available by specifying the location and date(s) you are, using the site’s various filters to customize your search.
- When you have found the desired accommodation, make a booking or reserve it. Sometimes bookings won’t be fully validated until the host accepts. Some hosts will allow immediate booking, whereas others will want to check out your profile too. For this reason, I recommend that you add a short profile with an image as well as a short note when booking.
- Pay for the accommodation and receive notification of your booking, which includes the address where you’ll be staying. For longer-term stays, there is a payment plan by which you’ll pay an initial deposit and the rest in installments.
Steps to list and rent out your home
The process is relatively straightforward for hosts on Airbnb websites. It often goes in the following order:
- Create a new listing in the Host section of your profile, which varies from home type, room type, amenities, location, photos and pricing.
- Publish your listing, it may take up to 72 hours for it to appear in search results.
- You will have to review the request and accept or decline within 24 hours to keep your response rate up,.
- The Host issues invoice for payment and then confirms reservation